Cross country skiing

[Crankin]

I mostly have to travel north for x country skiing, too. I can snowshoe out the door after a snowstorm, but the x country ski area near my house gets trashed after about half a day, with all of the people coming out here from Boston. The place I like to go to, is only an hour or so away, just over the NH border.

[solobiker]

DH and I got in close to 15 miles of back-country touring today. Beautiful day for it. This trail has quite a bit of climbing invovled which makes it fun...although sometimes survival ski on the downhills. We usually carry Day packs each to hold down jackets, wind jackets, food, water, extra gloves..etc. Makes for a great workout.

[Crankin]

No snow anywhere within 100s of miles.

[solobiker]

That is a big time bummer. We have already been out 4x. The Front Range has most of the snow right now which is great for us. We have great skiing within 1 hr of where we live and the trails are not heavily used at all..espec the further in we go. Hope you get some snow soon!!

[limewave]

I went out for a peaceful 8k of cross country (classic style) skiing today on my lunch. I'm starting to really love xc skiing. I have gone 3x over the last week. I took the kids with me over the weekend, towing DS in a sled attached to a lumbar pack. We will probably all go again this weekend.

I wish I could find an instructor to learn competitive xc skiing. Right now I just kind of shuffle along at a good rate. I would love to learn how to ski proper.

[ridebikeme]

I agree with you Limewave, I absolutely LOOOOVe nordic skiing! I'm not sure whether you have any touring centers near you, but some do offer lessons... it might be worthwhile to check. If you happen not to have any luck there, then there are lots of videos out there that might help.

I got out today as well... only had a short amount of time, so got about 4 miles in. It was cool to start, but it was a PERFECT weather day!!!

Good luck in your search, if you don't have any luck with either of my suggestions, PM me. I work at a nordic shop (winter job) and maybe I can point you in a differect direction.

http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[Crankin]

I may actually get to ski on Sunday! Snow is coming!!!!
I am beyond nuts with waiting. And it's EMS demo day at Windblown. Hoping they have a nice pair of Silent Spider 62s in my size to try.

[ridebikeme]

Crankin, have fun trying the Silent Spiders! I know that we have certainly sold a lot of them. The great thing about them is their versatility, I've mounted lots of different types of bindings on them,.... touring, tele, and many backcountry bindings It will be interesting to hear your opinion of them. Another ski that is similar is the Salomon X Adventure 59, it's more of a traditonal length ski as opposed to the Fischer. But a GREAT ski for long distance back country or touring... umm perhaps next year.

[Crankin]

Yea, I have the "older" version of the Spiders, with the metal edges on just the fronts and backs. I was dying for shorter skis and got them at the end of the season 3 years ago, so I've had 2 seasons, plus a couple of skis the year I got them. Last year, I went to Franconia with some friends, and did some skiing that while was sort of tracked, but with no real groomed area outside the tracks for descending. I just don't have the control to descend in tracks on really steep downhills, so I want skis where I can be in the snow, if I have to, even if it's not flattened and groomed. The conditions were definitely more "back country" and I would like to do more of this. I also still have the softer touring boots, as I tried some "hard" more back country boots a few years ago and they just cut up my feet and hurt all around. I'm ready to try again.
I am really a better skier than cyclist, but I get so little practice, as the season is so short. I'm not that fast, but I can climb well and I actually like descending on skis, as opposed on my bike!

[ridebikeme]

Crankin, have fun at the demo! Besides, with the new snow how can you NOT have fun" Backcountry boots have come along way in the past couple of years, so here's to you finding some that fit your foot!! Let me know what you think of the ski's...

[limewave]

Some of you ladies seem very knowledgeable. Perhaps you can give me some basic ski maintenance tips. I used to be race down hill competitively and have a lot of experience with sharpening and waxing my skiis--had to do that before every race!

I have the Salomon Elite 6 which says it is a "waxless" grip ski. I've had these skis for 2 years and have never waxed them or sharpened or done anything. Is there anything I should do to better maintain them?

Catrin--if you ever come up far enough north, I'd be happy to meet you here for a ski--or a luge or a skate!

[ridebikeme]

Limewave,

I'm very aware of the Elite 6 ski's... very nice! In terms of maintenance, obviously there are no edges to sharpen, but you can wax them. Although they are in a "no wax" category, I would still recommend that you at least wax tips/tales. Not only will you get more glide out of the ski, but you'll also protect the bases if snow cover isn't adequate. There are times that rocks may get frozen in the snow from groomers, and with no wax on the ski(same as your alpine ski's) once you go over them, there's a chance that not only will you scratch the base but you could potentially tear a whole in it. With wax, the ski''s generally slide over the rock or whatever it may be. At the end of the season, I would put a fairly heavy wax on the ski's so they don't dry out over the summer. Lastly, if you own a thin wax, you can also put that over the scales of the ski's... they'll glide a bit better and of course it will wear off fairly quickly because of the scales.

I also wanted to ask you whether you knew anything about the Ada bike shop near Grand Rapids? Thanks for your help !

Have a great weekend skiing!!!


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[lph]

XC ski season i full swing here This weekend we're getting enough snow to make the woods in my backyard skiable - w00t!

Does anyone else here use a Kuzmin, uh, "scrape"? Unsure of the right term. It's become very popular here. Instead of gliding your skis you scrape off a very thin layer, down to fresh sole. The glide is excellent, and most people think it's as good as using glider and a lot less fuss. I do it maybe a couple of times a season, so it's not going to wear out my skis anytime fast.

[limewave]

Limewave,

I also wanted to ask you whether you knew anything about the Ada bike shop near Grand Rapids? Thanks for your help !

Have a great weekend skiing!!!

http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

Thanks for the maintenance tips! I will be sure to wax them now.

And, yes, I am VERY familiar with the Ada bike shop. I used to go to their winter indoor spin every week. And have done an occasional group ride with them.

[ridebikeme]

Thanks for the info! What else can you tell me about them? Feel free to PM me if you're more comfortable... should have done that myself.